PARLIAMENT Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed said PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has been given special treatment by the government on humanitarian grounds, something which the rest of the 50,000 prisoners are not able to enjoy.

He said this when grilled by Anwar's daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai) at the Dewan Rakyat today.

"I want to stress here that there are 50,000 prisoners nationwide; they are supposed to receive equal treatment.

"But in the case of Anwar, he is given the opportunity to conduct various activities like physiotherapy and Friday prayers.

“I want to emphasise that the government gives him special treatment and always adopts humanitarian grounds when he is concerned. Just accept the fact," Nur Jazlan ( photo ) told Nurul who questioned why her father was not allowed to get his physiotherapy, two to three times a week.

As a result, Anwar might have to undergo an operation instead of physiotherapy, she said.

According to Nur Jazlan (BN-Pulai), Anwar had thus far received 83 medical check-ups and 10 physiotherapy sessions in the span of 38 weeks' imprisonment.

Besides that, he added, Anwar was allowed to see his family 15 times and meet his lawyers 65 times.

Anwar had also performed Friday prayers for 35 weeks, Nur Jazlan told the House chaired by deputy speaker Ronald Kiandee.

Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Pauh) complained that Anwar was not sent to the hospital, which has better equipment for physiotherapy.

The arrangement for a hospital expert to be sent to the Sungai Buloh Prison was good for Anwar, but he has yet to give consent to the treatment proposed by the hospital, said Nur Jazlan (BN-Pulai).

Court's ruling

"The expert will decide how frequently he will receive physiotherapy treatment," he said.

Meanwhile, a BN lawmaker has warned the government to beware of Anwar who had claimed arsenic poisoning in the last sodomy trial.

"The (examination) result showed that he was not poisoned. So I want to ask, have we forgotten history? He has an element of a compulsive liar," said Abd Latiff Ahmad (BN-Mersing).

However, he was forced to retract his allegation after Nurul protested.

The former deputy prime minister was sentenced to five years’ jail for sodomy on Feb 10.

Nur Jazlan also refuted the claim of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Anwar is a political criminal and must be immediately released.

The prosecution of Anwar was brought by an individual, and thus the issue of releasing him and placing him under house arrest did not arise, he said.

"This was a court's ruling and (we) shouldn't question it," he added.